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Re: Fwd: Re: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
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It is hardly relevant, just interesting. Nabokov's fellow (emigre) writer,
Gaito Gazdanov, author of the novel "The Evening at Claire's" (mentioned in
Nabokov's story "Torpid Smoke"), used to enter the houses of his friends on
his hands. I learned this at http://www.hrono.ru/text/ru/nech_sacr.html (a
Russian-language site). Hand-walking is mentioned in "The Evening at
Claire's" and in another Gazdanov novel, "The Ghost of Alexander Wolf" (in
my opinion, a poor imitation of VN's "The Real Life of Sebastian Night"). In
Paris, Gazdanov earned his living as a taxi driver, but I vaguely remember
that cabaret life is a theme in one of his late novels (written in the
sixties).
My Zembla article on Lustalot (its style and English were greatly improved
by our Editor) is called "Skeletons in the closet" and signed with the
jocular pen name "A. Sklepikov."
Alexey Sklyarenko
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 7:10 PM
Subject: Fwd: Re: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
> I don't know about the act, but Van is not the first Nabokov hero to have
done
> acrobatic workouts; the protagonist of Mary has also been to the gym for
> agility.
>
> EDNOTE. To which I would add that the Nabokovs had a family trainer named
> Loustalot. The illustrated story by Alexey Sklyarenko may be found on
ZEMBLA.
>
> >>> chtodel@cox.net 03/24/05 1:03 PM >>>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:55 AM
> Subject: circus acts query
>
>
> I have been trying to determine whether the variety acts described below
in
> Nabokov's ADA are based on actual performances or are imaginary. No
luck--in
> part because I have no idea of how to approach the question. What such
acts are
> called? Have any of you seen such acts?
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
>
>
>
>
>
> FROM NABOKOV's NOVEL ADA.
>
>
>
> The stage would be empty when the curtain went up; then, after five
heartbeats
> of theatrical suspense, something swept out of the wings, enormous and
black,
> to the accompaniment of dervish drums. The shock of his powerful and
> precipitous entry affected so deeply the children in the audience that for
a
> long time later, in the dark of sobbing insomnias, in the glare of violent
> nightmares, nervous little boys and girls relived, with private
accretions,
> something similar to the 'primordial qualm,' a shapeless nastiness, the
swoosh
> of nameless wings, the unendurable dilation of fever which came in a
cavern
> draft from the uncanny stage. Into the harsh light of its gaudily carpeted
> space a masked giant, fully eight feet tall, erupted, running strongly in
the
> kind of soft boots worn by Cossack dancers. A voluminous, black shaggy
cloak of
> the burka type enveloped his silhouette inquiétante (according to a female
> Sorbonne correspondent * we've kept all those cuttings) from neck to kne!
> e or what appeared to be those sections of his body. A Karakul cap
surmounted
> his top. A black mask covered the upper part of his heavily bearded face.
The
> unpleasant colossus kept strutting up and down the stage for a while, then
the
> strut changed to the restless walk of a caged madman, then he whirled, and
to a
> clash of cymbals in the orchestra and a cry of terror (perhaps faked) in
the
> gallery, Mascodagama turned over in the air and stood on his head.
>
> In this weird position, with his cap acting as a pseudopodal pad, he
jumped up
> and down, pogo-stick fashion * and suddenly came apart. Van's face,
shining
> with sweat, grinned between the legs of the boots that still shod his
rigidly
> raised arms. Simultaneously his real feet kicked off and away the false
head
> with its crumpled cap and bearded mask. The magical reversal 'made the
house
> gasp.' Frantic ('deafening,' 'delirious,' 'a veritable tempest of')
applause
> followed the gasp. He bounded offstage * and next moment was back, now
sheathed
> in black tights, dancing a jig on his hands. pp. 183-4
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
> For the tango, which completed his number on his last tour, he was given
a
> partner, a Crimean cabaret dancer in a very short scintillating frock cut
very
> low on the back. She sang the tango tune in Russian:
>
>
>
> Pod znóynïm nébom Argentínï,
>
> Pod strástnïy góvor mandolinï
>
>
>
> 'Neath sultry sky of Argentina,
>
> To the hot hum of mandolina
>
>
>
> Fragile, red-haired 'Rita' (he never learned her real name), a pretty
Karaite
> from Chufut Kale, where, she nostalgically said, the Crimean cornel,
kizil',
> bloomed yellow among the arid rocks, bore an odd resemblance to Lucette as
she
> was to look ten years later. During their dance, all Van saw of her were
her
> silver slippers turning and marching nimbly in rhythm with the soles of
his
> hands. pp. 185
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
----- End forwarded message -----
Gaito Gazdanov, author of the novel "The Evening at Claire's" (mentioned in
Nabokov's story "Torpid Smoke"), used to enter the houses of his friends on
his hands. I learned this at http://www.hrono.ru/text/ru/nech_sacr.html (a
Russian-language site). Hand-walking is mentioned in "The Evening at
Claire's" and in another Gazdanov novel, "The Ghost of Alexander Wolf" (in
my opinion, a poor imitation of VN's "The Real Life of Sebastian Night"). In
Paris, Gazdanov earned his living as a taxi driver, but I vaguely remember
that cabaret life is a theme in one of his late novels (written in the
sixties).
My Zembla article on Lustalot (its style and English were greatly improved
by our Editor) is called "Skeletons in the closet" and signed with the
jocular pen name "A. Sklepikov."
Alexey Sklyarenko
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 7:10 PM
Subject: Fwd: Re: EDITOR's Query: ADA's variety acts
> I don't know about the act, but Van is not the first Nabokov hero to have
done
> acrobatic workouts; the protagonist of Mary has also been to the gym for
> agility.
>
> EDNOTE. To which I would add that the Nabokovs had a family trainer named
> Loustalot. The illustrated story by Alexey Sklyarenko may be found on
ZEMBLA.
>
> >>> chtodel@cox.net 03/24/05 1:03 PM >>>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 9:55 AM
> Subject: circus acts query
>
>
> I have been trying to determine whether the variety acts described below
in
> Nabokov's ADA are based on actual performances or are imaginary. No
luck--in
> part because I have no idea of how to approach the question. What such
acts are
> called? Have any of you seen such acts?
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
>
>
>
>
>
> FROM NABOKOV's NOVEL ADA.
>
>
>
> The stage would be empty when the curtain went up; then, after five
heartbeats
> of theatrical suspense, something swept out of the wings, enormous and
black,
> to the accompaniment of dervish drums. The shock of his powerful and
> precipitous entry affected so deeply the children in the audience that for
a
> long time later, in the dark of sobbing insomnias, in the glare of violent
> nightmares, nervous little boys and girls relived, with private
accretions,
> something similar to the 'primordial qualm,' a shapeless nastiness, the
swoosh
> of nameless wings, the unendurable dilation of fever which came in a
cavern
> draft from the uncanny stage. Into the harsh light of its gaudily carpeted
> space a masked giant, fully eight feet tall, erupted, running strongly in
the
> kind of soft boots worn by Cossack dancers. A voluminous, black shaggy
cloak of
> the burka type enveloped his silhouette inquiétante (according to a female
> Sorbonne correspondent * we've kept all those cuttings) from neck to kne!
> e or what appeared to be those sections of his body. A Karakul cap
surmounted
> his top. A black mask covered the upper part of his heavily bearded face.
The
> unpleasant colossus kept strutting up and down the stage for a while, then
the
> strut changed to the restless walk of a caged madman, then he whirled, and
to a
> clash of cymbals in the orchestra and a cry of terror (perhaps faked) in
the
> gallery, Mascodagama turned over in the air and stood on his head.
>
> In this weird position, with his cap acting as a pseudopodal pad, he
jumped up
> and down, pogo-stick fashion * and suddenly came apart. Van's face,
shining
> with sweat, grinned between the legs of the boots that still shod his
rigidly
> raised arms. Simultaneously his real feet kicked off and away the false
head
> with its crumpled cap and bearded mask. The magical reversal 'made the
house
> gasp.' Frantic ('deafening,' 'delirious,' 'a veritable tempest of')
applause
> followed the gasp. He bounded offstage * and next moment was back, now
sheathed
> in black tights, dancing a jig on his hands. pp. 183-4
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
> For the tango, which completed his number on his last tour, he was given
a
> partner, a Crimean cabaret dancer in a very short scintillating frock cut
very
> low on the back. She sang the tango tune in Russian:
>
>
>
> Pod znóynïm nébom Argentínï,
>
> Pod strástnïy góvor mandolinï
>
>
>
> 'Neath sultry sky of Argentina,
>
> To the hot hum of mandolina
>
>
>
> Fragile, red-haired 'Rita' (he never learned her real name), a pretty
Karaite
> from Chufut Kale, where, she nostalgically said, the Crimean cornel,
kizil',
> bloomed yellow among the arid rocks, bore an odd resemblance to Lucette as
she
> was to look ten years later. During their dance, all Van saw of her were
her
> silver slippers turning and marching nimbly in rhythm with the soles of
his
> hands. pp. 185
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
----- End forwarded message -----